Canterlot Wedding Remix

by chronicLurker

Chapter Six: Climax

The corridor was ominously silent except for the occasional low rumble of a distant explosion. No enemies were in sight as the small group of ponies approached the door which led to the quarters where they believed that the bearers of the Elements of Harmony were being held prisoner.

Princess Luna gestured for the others to stay back and stepped close to place her ear to the door. “I hear no fighting,” she murmured after a moment. She backed away from the portal and nodded to the others. “Doubtless there are changelings within, but we should have the element of surprise. I will safeguard the entrance, Twilight Sparkle. Subdue any opposition quickly. Once we recover your friends, we can move on to the final stage of our plan.”

Twilight nodded. Squaring herself with the door, she took a deep breath and called on her magic. Moving fast, she slammed the door wide and charged down the short hallway with the white changeling beside her and Cadance on her heels. She didn’t go far before she stopped short, the spell fading from her horn as she took in the scene before her.

First, and most importantly, her friends seemed to be unharmed. They were all gathered in the sitting room that connected their suites, their faces lighting with happiness and relief as they turned to see Twilight entering the room. Second, five other notable ponies were in the room: a brown earth pony stallion with an apple tree for a cutie mark stood at Applejack’s side, Soarin’ of the Wonderbolts hovered in the air with Rainbow Dash, a pale green earth pony marked with a teddy bear somehow managed to cower and look protective of Fluttershy at the same time, a male clone of Rarity was inspecting a chipped hoof with a moue of distaste, and a familiar blue unicorn stallion with a safety pin on his flank was nodding in time to one of Pinkie’s frenetic monologues. Third, there was no immediate threat to face.

Roughly a dozen equines were unconscious on the floor. A few still appeared to be unicorns, but the vast majority had reverted to their true forms. They were nightmarish: covered in matte black exoskeletons, mouths filled with razor teeth and protruding fangs, and their deformed horns twisted and sharp. Worst of all, their legs and diaphanous wings were perforated with gaping holes, giving the impression that they were rotting while still alive. Twilight couldn’t help but glance toward the white, winged stallion who stood protectively by her side. Under his flawless facade, he was one of them; he was teeth and holes, a pony-that-is-not-a-pony. She restrained a shiver of uneasiness.

“Twilight!” Dash shouted, darting forward in midair to land right in front of the unicorn, startling her out of her disquieting thoughts. “Where were you? Everything’s going crazy around here!”

“We were so worried,” Fluttershy piped up softly, unfolding from her anxious huddle. “No one knew where you’d gone.”

“Poor little Spikey-Wikey is missing, too,” Rarity chimed in, blue eyes filling with dramatic tears. “Those brutes herded us all together as soon as the commotion started outside, but I’ve seen neither scale nor spine of him!”

“I wanted to go look,” Dash announced, “but they told us to stay put and we thought they were royal guards.” She glared down at one of the crumpled changelings with righteous indignation.

“Yeah,” Pinkie agreed, bouncing closer with no particular care given to where her hooves landed. One of the insensate changelings groaned as his thorax was forcefully compressed by a careless hop. “And then they attacked and turned into weird bug things, and we fought like tigers, except not really because tigers use their paws and claws and are like, ‘RAARG!’ and there was more bucking and aerobatics and we were like, ‘Neigh! We are but mares!’ except for the boys, who are colts. Stallions? How old is too old to be a colt, anyway?”

Applejack gently but firmly plugged Pinkie’s pie-hole with a hoof and added, “Some of them got away.” She looked past Twilight to Cadance, who was making a credible attempt to disappear into the unicorn’s shadow. “I reckon you’ve had an interesting time of it, too. Howdy, Princess.”

“I’m just glad that you’re all okay,” Twilight told them earnestly. “Rarity, don’t worry about Spike, he’s safe.” Adopting an apologetic but determined look, she took a deep breath and continued, “Girls, we have a situation on our hooves, but there’s something I have to do first. Sorry about this.” Her horn glowed as she concentrated and released a wave of magic which passed harmlessly through her surprised friends and filled the room. As it reached the five ‘stallions’, they slumped to the floor in boneless heaps. Soarin’ began to snore.

A cacophony of protests erupted from the mares as their beaus fell. “Darling!” “Hey!” “O-oh my...” “Tarnation!” “Kumquat!”

Incensed, Applejack demanded, “Twilight, what’d you do that for?”

“Trust me, it’ll be bad enough without having to fight them as well,” Twilight countered in a low but authoritative voice. “Cadance, could you undo the spell on my friends?”

Hurriedly backing away, the white changeling blurted out, “I’ll help Princess Luna guard the entrance.” He made a hasty exit down the short hall, disappearing into the corridor beyond. Twilight sighed but didn’t stop him.

“Wait,” Dash said suspiciously. “What spell? We’re under a spell?”

“I’m sorry,” Cadance apologized as she crept around Twilight. Closing her eyes, she began to channel her magic and her horn lit with a faded blue glow. A white heart materialized at the tip, growing larger and larger until it was nearly the size of a pony’s head and pulsing with light. The princess was showing a bit of strain as she finally cast the counterspell, sending the white heart to hover over the enthralled equines. The mares watched in awe and trepidation as the heart pulsed brightly once before exploding with a flash and a pop. Glittery residue showered everyone in the room, causing some sneezing and general discomfort, but it evaporated in an instant.

Fluttershy looked down at the faux stallion lying beside her and screamed almost silently as she scrambled backward and away from him. All around her the others were startled into awareness.

“I remember,” Rainbow Dash babbled, kicking up off the ground and bouncing off the lighting fixture before she managed a frantic hover at the edge of the room where wall met ceiling. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the unconscious changelings. “The caves, and we, and they! Agh!”

Applejack raised a hoof over the prone brown earth pony, then deliberately turned and walked to Fluttershy, picking her way carefully around fallen changelings. She laid a hoof on the withers of the shaking pegasus and began to speak to her in a murmur. Rarity seemed to be in shock, her stare focused on nothing and her mouth slightly agape. Pinkie was still smiling, but it was a vague, confused sort of smile and her mane and tail were sagging noticeably.

Cadance took a shuddering breath and turned away from the scene, unable to bear it. She looked to Twilight for help or absolution, but the unicorn was at a loss. Lowering her head and closing her eyes, Cadance sagged against the wall. Dark spots began to appearing on the carpet below her muzzle.

Twilight tore her eyes away from her disconsolate former foalsitter to address the other ponies. “Girls, please,” Twilight called loudly. “I know that it’s a shock.” They gave her their attention immediately, though Rarity and Fluttershy still looked unsteady. Twilight lowered her volume to a more conversational level to say, “Believe me, I know. Aside from that, is everypony okay?”

One by one, her friends nodded confirmation that they were, indeed, fine.

“Good,” Twilight breathed. “We don’t have time to be emotional. These changelings aren’t going to be a threat anytime soon, but the others still have to be stopped.”

“We’re with you, Twi,” Applejack said stoically.

“Yeah,” Dash agreed, easing down just enough that she no longer seemed to be glued to the ceiling. “What do you want us to do?”

“We need to get to the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight explained. “We should be able to use them to create a super-powered counterspell that will free everypony else from the love spell. Cadance can’t do it on her own, as weak as she is.” The other mares glanced toward the slumped noble, but none of them seemed inclined to comment. Taking their silence as acceptance, Twilight approached the princess and gently coaxed, “Cadance, we have to go.”

The winged unicorn bobbed her head in a shallow nod and pushed away from the wall. She looked up at Twilight with reddened eyes in a tear-streaked face and dully replied, “I’m ready.”

Unsure of what else to say, Twilight led the others from the room and down the hall to rejoin Luna and the stallion in the corridor. A small group of fake guards lay by the wall in a tidy, unconscious heap near Luna, who was thoroughly unruffled. The white changeling was eyeing the princess of the night nervously but, upon noticing Twilight, he brightened up immediately and moved toward her.

“Ah, good,” Luna said, perking up as the ponies emerged. “Now we can-“

“Changeling!” Dash pointed an accusatory hoof at the white stallion, causing him to flare his wings and back away from the mares uncertainly, clearly not thrilled by the idea of a fight.

“No, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight interrupted, quickly stepping between her friends and the false alicorn. “I mean, yes, he is a changeling, but he’s still affected by the love spell. He’s an ally, okay?”

The pegasus’s face twisted in disgust and she angrily snapped, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“Twi, come on,” Applejack objected, “you can’t be serious.”

“Um.” Fluttershy hesitantly asked, “Twilight, um, are you sure you’re thinking clearly? I mean, if the love spell is still on h-him, maybe, um, you’re not free either?”

“Of course I am!” Twilight insisted.

“If you say so, darling,” Rarity said in a clipped voice. The frosty look she leveled at the changeling made her opinion on the matter clear.

“I say so as well,” Princess Luna interjected, stepping forward and glowering at the mares. “My sister removed the enchantment on Twilight Sparkle. The changeling remains ensorcelled, as is his wish.” He nodded his agreement with her statement and she went on, “This is a matter of no importance. Celestia does battle with the Changeling Queen as we speak. You must retrieve the Elements of Harmony and use them as soon as possible after Cadance and I bring the shield down.”

“Yes, your highness,” Applejack agreed, though she didn't seem entirely mollified. The others grudgingly accepted the princess’ word on the matter even as they still eyed the stallion distrustfully.

“I’ll stay with you,” the changeling told Twilight. “You’ll have to leave the building to reach the place where the Elements of Harmony are kept. It will be dangerous out there, in full view of the battle.”

“No, you need to lead Luna and Cadance to my brother,” Twilight countered resolutely.

Crestfallen, he pleaded, “Twilight-“

“Please help them,” she requested. “We can defend ourselves.”

He looked torn, but he nodded. “I’ll do as you ask, love.” He stepped in to nuzzle her tenderly and she stood stock still and let him. Sighing, he drew back to give her a last sad look, then turned and started down the hall. Cadance followed him hesitantly, glancing back once at the other mares only to swallow whatever she might have said in parting.

“Be cautious, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna intoned seriously. “The day is not yet won.” Without waiting for an answer, she went after the departing ponies.

Twilight nodded as she kept her eyes on the floor, and she didn’t look up until the winged and horned ponies rounded the corner at the end of the hall and were out of sight. Then, blushing, she turned to face her friends.

“So,” Rainbow Dash asked casually, “Is this a good time to talk about the fact that Twilight has a crush on Princess Celestia?” She flinched a little when all of the others – even Fluttershy – glared at her. “Okay, okay, not the time.”

“We need to hurry,” Twilight said. She reared and raced off, the others on her tail.

---

The battle in the sky was at something of a stalemate. Periodically, Celestia threw off a pulse of pure light to send the lesser changelings reeling and give herself some breathing room. This had less to do with her need to protect herself than with the queen’s distasteful habit of disregarding the lives of her minions as she attempted to destroy the alicorn. Fortunately the smaller changelings seemed ridiculously durable; even those who fell all the way to the paved streets below quickly rejoined the fight with only minor injuries.

A thick bolt of acid green hissed as it sliced through the air. Celestia dodged easily, casting a bolt of light at the changeling queen that missed by a hair. It faded out before reaching the overarching pink wall of the shield.

Noticing this, Chrysalis gleefully gloated, “Running out of energy, Celestia?”

She hadn’t even worked up a sweat yet, but the effort of restraining her power while remaining effective in combat was starting to wear on her. Her return volley was too strong and her aim erratic. She winced as one of the buzzing creatures went down screeching with a scorched wing, barely able to slow his descent.

Her distraction cost her; a glowing green spell bomb was only a few feet away when she banked and snapped her wings shut, allowing herself to plummet out of the way an instant before it detonated practically on top of her.

---

The sounds of the aerial battle echoed through the streets. Ponies huddled against walls in small groups, clinging to each other and staring upward as the princess of the sun fought for them. Twilight and her friends paid them no mind as they galloped toward their destination. It wasn’t far, and the open layout of the palace grounds made cutting through the surrounding streets the fastest route. They were running past a cafe when a changeling fell out of the sky and smashed into the pavement mere feet from the mares, showering them with stony fragments. He almost immediately rolled and forced himself to his hooves, staggering a little as if dazed from the impact. When he saw them, he hissed threateningly.

Applejack bucked him in the skull and he arced through the air to bounce down the street a bit. He didn’t get back up, but the slow movement of his side showed that he was still breathing.

“This isn’t so bad,” Dash said, delivering an impressive spinning kick to a changeling as it fell past her. The flailing black body disappeared over the roof of a nearby building. “I kind of thought there would be more of them.”

Twilight blasted another fallen changeling with her sleep spell, knocking him unconscious, and observed, “Thanks to the love spell, a lot of them are probably too busy protecting the ponies they care about.”

It took very little time to reach their goal, thanks to the lack of opposition. Charging up to the doors, Twilight flung them open with a burst of magic. Beyond lay a long chamber with massive windows depicting momentous events in the history of Equestria. Only half a dozen enemies waited to guard the Elements, and AJ and Dash made quick work of them before the others could even think of lending a hoof.

“There it is,” Twilight said, eyes affixed to an ornate door at the end of the hall. “The Vault of the Elements.” She broke into an eager trot, her friends close behind her. Light shining through the stained glass windows painted their previous victories on their coats. As she passed the fallen, Twilight cast her spell again to ensure that the changelings would remain dormant until they were defeated as well.

Finally, they reached the vault.

“Oh no!” The other ponies all turned to look at Rarity, who had dropped back on her haunches and covered her mouth with both hooves.

“What?” Dash demanded, flying back to hover above the white unicorn. “What’s wrong?”

Pained, Rarity looked up and asked, “Don’t you remember the last time we were here? Princess Celestia told us that she was the only one who could open the vault!”

“Ponyfeathers!” Applejack exclaimed. “You’re right. Without the princess here to open the magic lock, we’re stuck.”

“Not a problem,” Twilight countered. She lifted one of the unconscious guard-changelings with her magic and carefully deposited him in front of the sealed door. Clambering up on her living makeshift stepladder, she inserted her horn into the hole. A little burst of unicorn magic later, and the vault began shooting out rays of light in the signature hue of Twilight’s magic. The sound of heavy tumblers and clockwork filled the air and the vault rumbled open. Smiling proudly, Twilight retrieved the jeweled chest from within and lifted the lid to display the contents. “Ta-da!”

Rarity sputtered, “Wha- But- How?!”

“I think what she’s trying to ask is, ‘How the hay did you do that, Twi?’” Applejack translated.

“Oh, that’s simple,” Twilight replied blithely as she hopped down from her perch and began to distribute the Elements to their respective bearers. “Princess Celestia showed me a little trick; but if you really want me to explain how, I would first have to clear up a few common misconceptions about harmonic resonances and their impact on multi-level seals, and you’d need a basic understanding of Giddy Gumdrop’s Fourth Law.”

“Ooh, I know this one!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together and cheered, “You mean it’s magic!”

“Exactly!” Settling the tiara on her head, Twilight struck a heroic pose and called, “Come on, girls! It’s time to save Canterlot. For Equestria!”

She received deadpan looks from three out of five ponies. Fluttershy hid her face. Pinkie adopted her own world-saving stance and growled supportively.

“Seriously, Twi,” Dash said brusquely, but not without sympathy. “Leave the catch phrases to the experts, okay?” Clearing her throat, the pegasus cried, “Let’s kick some flank, Elements of Harmony style! Charge!” She blasted off, leaving a rainbow-streaked trail, and the others followed with cries of encouragement.

...With the exception of Twilight, who muttered, “What’s wrong with my catch phrase? I like it.” She grudgingly galloped after the others, finding them just outside of the building, staring up at the sky. The shield was still up.

“I thought that was supposed to come down,” Dash said.

“It is,” Twilight agreed grimly. “What’s taking so long?”

---

The changelings guarding Shining Armor were hardened soldiers, more than prepared to deal with one unicorn stallion, no matter how powerful or well-trained. They were not prepared to fight an alicorn. Luna trotted up carelessly, her horn lighting only when the grey unicorns began to charge. The changelings were unceremoniously lifted in a dark magical aura and slammed into the walls, the floor, and each other with vicious force until all three went limp. Luna never even slowed her pace. With her foes pacified, she piled them up beside the open door and trotted into the room beyond, announcing, “Captain, we have come to rescue...you?”

Shining Armor stood in the middle of a room full of smashed and splintered furnishings. A venerable conference table had been rendered into kindling, and there wasn’t an intact chair in sight. Tattered fabric and shredded mattress innards were strewn about, indicating that at some point there might have been a bed in the chamber. At the center of it all, the stallion looked exhausted but surprisingly unscathed, considering the state of his living quarters. His eyes widened as Luna walked into the room, and he looked on the verge of collapse as a bedraggled Cadance entered in her wake.

The pink princess trembled as she walked to her fiancé on shaking legs. “Oh, Shining Armor,” she exclaimed softly, nuzzling him with desperate relief. “You’re alright!”

He made no move to return her affection, but his gaze bounced from her to Luna and he was clearly thinking furiously. Cautiously, he ventured, “You’re- How do I know it’s you?”

She was taken aback, but understanding came quickly. She cast about for something, anything, to say, then blushed and hesitantly leaned in to whisper something into his ear, causing his eyes to widen.

“Cadance,” he rasped out, pulling her into an embrace. “It’s really you.” All too quickly, he reluctantly drew back. “Cadance, they have Twilight and her friends. Chrysalis – the queen – she came and told me-“

“I-I had to,” she pleaded guiltily. “They said they would hurt you...”

“As touching as this is,” the white changeling quipped dryly, “Twilight and the others are in danger.”

Shining stared at the Celestia look-alike. “What the hay?”

Luna cleared her throat and tapped a hoof pointedly against the worn carpet. “Captain, if I could have a moment?”

“Princess Luna.” Shining Armor replied quickly as he stood at attention, but he couldn’t seem to stop his attention drifting back to the changeling. “But he-“

“Is a changeling and an ally,” Luna interjected crisply. “Never mind him. Twilight Sparkle and the other bearers are free. Lower your shield immediately.”

Shining Armor snapped his eyes shut and concentrated.

---

High above the city, the shield came apart like a window shattering. The temperature rose several degrees in an instant as Princess Celestia suddenly burst into flame and went on the offensive. Even far below, the Queen’s scream of rage could be heard as she was blasted to the horizon by a blazing eruption of golden light and fire. A beat later, a bright flash rivaling the sun itself lit the sky.

Twilight blasted another changeling head over tail and shouted, “Now, girls!”

As one, the Elements of Harmony called upon the power of their friendship, their eyes burning white as they lifted into the air. The remaining changelings tried to flee, but it was too late. The rainbow light of harmony exploded outward, engulfing all of Canterlot.